Trials
by Breathing In Shadows
Summary: Cloud is in love with Leon, but doesn't know it. Leon is in love with Cloud, but is afraid. Can a little meddling from Tifa bring them together. LEMON in later chapters. CxL Made for my dear friend Theducksrcoming, happy birthday, and I hope you enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own!!** Please get this through you're seemingly very small heads. Thank you, and please check your bags at the door. No kleptomaniacs allowed. glares

Thoughts will be in _italics_.

Cloud was currently on the rooftop of Merlin's hut, thinking on how much life must hate him.

Cloud was having issues. Very large issues. In fact, his issues when so large that they had now evolved into one very large dilemma. Yes, like a Pokémon.

You are, right now, undoubtedly confused. If you are not, I'm afraid to have to tell you that you need professional help. It will help if I explain a few things to you first.

Clouds main problem was this. He had feelings for Leon. Yes, you heard me correctly. He, Cloud, had feelings for Leon. Leon, practically the only person in all the worlds who could possibly act more emotionless than Cloud himself.

And emotionally retarded Leon is sadly, or not so sadly, who Cloud had fallen for.

And the worst part about this situation? Well, that would be the whole being around Leon every second of his waking hours during the day, besides the time that he was in the bathroom, or the other had gone out to shop.

And even worse than that, Leon did not seem to understand the idea of 'personal space', or if he did, he just didn't exert any effort or energy to care. And being Leon's main working partner during the restoration, meant that Cloud had to spend many long, draining hours working incredibly close to the brown haired man, leaving Cloud very flustered by the end. Immediately after Leon announced that work was done for the day, Cloud would rush off to the showers to take care of some, ehem, personal business.

To make matters worse, he wasn't the only one interested in Leon either. There were many citizens of Radiant Gardens who had a thing for the mink haired man, both men and women alike.

And, contrary to popular belief about blondes and their intelligence, Cloud was not dumb. He was well aware of the others who liked Leon. Every time that one of Leon's 'fans' would come over to talk to him, Cloud's heart would break a little more, because he realized that with so many people pinning for his affection, Leon could have his choice of anyone that he wanted, so why would he want Cloud? It did not help, even when Leon would brush those off that liked him so much. Gently or otherwise.

Cloud shook his head. Thinking about that was not helping his foul mood in the least.

He sighed as he pondered the horizon. Cloud thought about many things, but he always seemed to come back to one sticking point. He had no idea what so ever of when he had started to see Leon like this.

At first, Cloud had been completely against working with another on his projects, stating that because he did not get along with others, pairing him with someone else would just bring down both the quality and the quantity of the work that he would get done. But the rest of the party, well, mainly the girls had 

said that because that destruction was so severe, that going in alone would be akin to suicide. That was hoe he had been partnered with the target of his affection. Everyone thought that because of the way that they both acted, they would get on fine.

The truly amazing part was that they were correct. After the first few days of getting used to the presence of another human being for extended periods of time, a new thing for both of them, there were no problems with the situation. Their silent nature was good for both the awkwardness of being around one another for extended periods of time. It avoided everyone of the awkward pauses in conversation that are caused by not knowing the person who you are conversing with.

Throughout their time working together, the brown and blonde haired men formed a bond that could loosely be described as friendship. In a single day, Leon and Cloud would get done with two to three times what the others did. They might not talk all that much, but having spent extended periods of time together, they were able to read each other fairly well.

_Was this when I started to feel more than just friendship for him?_ Cloud wondered_. When I could be close to him, and not feel the awkwardness that you get when people expect to have long and meaningful conversations._

Cloud could not tell. All he was completely sure of at the moment was that whenever he was around the other man, he would feel happy and at peace and happy.

Cloud sighed again. Today was not his day.


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Kingdom Hearts, but if I did, think of all the possibilities…drools

_Thoughts_

Tifa observed Cloud as he stared out the window, lost in thought. He had been doing that frequently as of late, and it was annoying her. Normal Cloud was moody enough, but this Cloud? Well, this Cloud was in need of some serious mental help.

You see, the reason why Tifa was observing Cloud observing something outside the window was a very simple one. Quite simple in fact. So incredibly non-remarkable that it almost made her burst into laughter.

_'He really thinks that he's can hide this_.' She thought to herself_. 'He really thinks that no one can tell... '_

When she realized this, she could not help but let out a small giggle. But that one noise alerted Cloud to the other person in the room. As he looked at Tifa's smiling face, he couldn't help but ask himself what his problem was. Cloud was a ex-SOLDIER for Christ's sake, he should have heard the women coming from three hundred feet away, at least.

"Tifa, what do you want?" Cloud asked, getting directly to the point; he was not one to mince words.

"What do I want? Well Cloud, I want many things, but right now, I want you to tell me what is going on between you and Leon." At her words, Cloud turned back to stare out the window.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Tifa." Came the stiff reply.

"Cloud, I know that you are not dumb, so don't even try to pull ignorance on me, okay? You know exactly what I am talking about. The others may be ignorant, but I can see what you are trying to hide."

"How? How do you…know?" Cloud asked quietly. Tifa smiled softly.

"Cloud, you are not able to hide your emotions, especially those emotions, as well as you think that you can. So please, will you tell me?"

"…Alright. You already know that I like…him. Um, there really isn't much more to this situation than that…" Cloud ended lamely.

"Cloud, there has to be more. You are acting even more moody then is usual for you. What is holding you back? There must be something…"

"You're asking why I have not told him how I feel about him? That has a very simple answer Tifa. You should be able to figure this out on your own. The first reason is that I don't know what I feel about him. The second is that Leon is strait. Which means that even if I did understand these feelings that have suddenly appeared, it would not matter. This is why I am acting more 'moody' today than it would appear to be for me." Clouds voice was a mixture of bitterness and sadness as he revealed his problems to his friend.

Upon hearing Clouds predicament, Tifa smiled. _I think I have an idea…_

"Cloud, stop worrying and just do something about your feelings. Just make a move, before you start to doubt your self even more then you are now."

"But Tifa, Leon is…"

"Cloud, if you are going to say that he is strait, you are sadly, or I guess in this case gladly incorrect. So stop worrying."

"Leon is…gay?" Cloud asked, his heart reacting to his carefully controlled excitement.

"Of course Leon is gay! You couldn't tell? Look at what he wears! And look at his hair! Believe me, there is no way that that man is strait."

As Cloud took in all the information that was just given to him, he felt his dark mood lift slightly.

"So, now that one of your problems is taken care of, tell me about the other. What do you mean that you don't know what you feel about him?" Tifa asked confused.

Cloud sighed as that was once again on the floor, so to speak.

"I really don't know how I feel about him. I mean, this happened very suddenly. It was as if one second everything was normal, then the next, I couldn't look at him with out flushing." Cloud explained tiredly.

"Tell me what you feel when you are around him. That could help you understand your feelings."

"When I'm around him, all I really want is to spend time together, and to talk. _Talk._ I just want him to be around him, and I want him to want me like I want him. And I feel that if I ever saw him with someone else, he felt as though his heart would explode, as if some one had used the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique.

Tifa sat blinking and Cloud for a few moments as a slightly awkward silence saturated the room. When at last the silence was broken, it was by Tifa.

"Um… Cloud? You don't have just a crush on him… Cloud, you're in love with Leon."

Clouds eyes grew huge.


	3. Chapter 3

Cloud stared at Tifa in shocked silence. His mind was completely blank. If his brain was what was keeping him alive, Cloud would be dead, because it was flat lining. Cloud was officially dead. Or, he would be, but his brain was _not _the thing keeping him alive.

Tifa laughed to her self as she watched his facial expression change quickly. After a few moments though, she decided to snap him out of his stupor.

"Cloud? Are you in there? … Cloud?" Tifa sighed. It wasn't working. _'Must have hit him harder than I expected. Oh well_.' Tifa sighed again as he reached out and tapped on Cloud's nose, startling him back into consciousness.

"A-are you serious? I'm… I'm in love with… with Leon?" Cloud asked in a small voice, mainly to himself.

"Yes Cloud, you are. So please, realize this and let us get on with the plans."

"Plans? What plans are you talking of, Tifa?" now Cloud was confused. There had been no plan of which he had known of.

"Why, the plan to get you Leon, of course. That plan."

"Ah, that plan….Wait, what?!"

"Cloud, do not make me repeat myself. You know exactly what I am talking about. And you know that you want it. So, shall we decide you r plan of action?" Tifa asked, smirking slightly at Cloud's face.

At this point, clouds mind was racing. It was never good when Tifa became so focused, and anything having to do with her friends, well, let just say that unless Cloud wanted to turn his life into a living hell, that is.

"Tifa, …this is not an east thing to do, you know." Cloud pointed out, trying to distract Tifa's scheming mind.

"If something can be achieved easily, it probably isn't worth it. Therefore Cloud, this is very worth it."

Cloud sighed. He was not stupid, nor was he blind. He was able to tell exactly when he was unable to with in a situation. This was one of those situations. He sighed, defeated.

"What is it exactly that you are planning?"

"Well, I am thinking that you must do something very… obvious and shocking. You want to get his attention, right? Help me think of something to do that."

"Tifa, I am not the one that is good at this stuff. You usually are the one that takes care of this for me. I cannot do this." Cloud said.

"Well then, if you are not going to help me, you are going to have to do as I say, whether or not you want to. That is my only term for helping you get what you want, Leon." Tifa smiled."Do we have a deal, Cloud? Will you do as I say?"

Cloud was seriously starting to regret choosing to speak with Tifa about his little… problem. When Tifa was involved, she got what she wanted. _No sense in fighting her. _Cloud thought to himself. _It is not like I can win, anyway._

"…Yes, I do agree. But, only if it gets me what I want." Cloud conceded.

"Of course Cloud, of course."


	4. Chapter 4

"…I hate you. Did you know that?"

"Now Cloud, you don't hate me. You just hate what I'm making you do."

Cloud growled. "At this moment in time, it is the same thing. I don't understand how this will help me at all. And how am I supposed to explain this?" He paused, gesturing to the ensamble that Tifa had put him in, "There is no way to explain this!"

Tifa smirked, "Of course there is a way to explain this. Just tell everyone that you lost a bet to me. They will believe you. Why else would you be in this get up?"

"I don't understand why I am. Why exactly do you think that putting me in a _small pink dress_ will get Leon to notice me? And why is this your only answer? You've been planning this." He accused while trying to figure how he was supposed to walk in the thing that Tifa had put him in.

"Of course this is my only plan. And you're wondering why this will get him to notice you? You do know what you're wearing, right? If anything will get him to notice you, this will be it. And, if it makes you feel better, I'm not making you go out there when there are a lot of people there, that would just be mean."

"Fine, I'll do it. It's not as though I have much of a choice…" Cloud stalked off moodly, leaving a smirking Tifa behind him.

"I wonder if he knows just how easy this is going to be?" She asked herself.

Cloud fidgeted. He was trying to appear calm, and was seemingly failing miserably.

His current position was in a chair in the library. A chair that happened to be right across from the chair which Leon was situated. Leon, who was currently staring at him. And not stopping. It was making Cloud incredibly uncomfortable.

After five more minutes of Cloud attempting to ignore Leon and focusing on his book, and five minutes of Leon staring at him, Cloud couldn't take it anymore.

"What?" He snapped and Leon.

"Sorry?" Leon asked, snapping out of his reverie.

"What do you want? Why are you staring at me? It's…unnerving." Cloud finished, lamely.

Leon flinched slightly. "…Sorry… I was just trying to understand why you were in that…" Gesturing to the small pink dress in which Cloud currently resided.

Cloud sighed. It seemed as though he wouldn't be able to escape speaking to Leon throughout this humiliation. _Out of everything that she could have made me do, why did it have to be this?_

He sighed again. "You could have asked." He told Leon, bringing his eyes up to meet Leon's. "If you must know, I lost a bet." He admitted.

"A bet? With who?" Leon's gaze seemed to become darker the longer that he watched Cloud, making him shift uncomfortably.

"A bet with Tifa."

"And she made you wear this?"

"Yes." Cloud answered shortly, dropping his gaze from Leon's. The more time that they talked about this, the more uncomfortable he became. _Why is he so interested? I don't understand…_

They both lapsed into an uncomfortable silence that lasted until dinner.


End file.
